passed by the House on Feb. 14, 103-11

The Florida Senate voted 33-2 on Tuesday to send a bill to Gov. Rick Scott to ask the U.S. Congress to decide whether Florida should have daylight saving time year-round.

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – The Florida Senate voted 33-2 on Tuesday to send a bill to Gov. Rick Scott to ask the U.S. Congress to decide whether Florida should have daylight saving time year-round.

It was passed by the House on Feb. 14, 103-11.

HB 1013, aka the “Sunshine Protection Act,” asks Congress to pass a law to allow Florida to move from standard time to daylight saving time year-round.

Daylight savings time begins the second Sunday in March and lasts until the first Sunday in November.

If approved, Florida would join Hawaii and Arizona that have exempted themselves from the 1966 law that set a uniform time for all time zones across the country.

Daylight saving has caused controversy since it began. Winston Churchill argued that it enlarges “the opportunities for the pursuit of health and happiness among the millions of people who live in this country” and pundits have dubbed it “Daylight Slaving Time.”

Historically, retailing, sports and tourism interests have favored daylight saving, while agricultural and evening entertainment interests have opposed it, and its initial adoption had been prompted by energy crises and war.